ten lessons 2nd online ed1

TEN LESSONS OF ARABIC

TEN LESSONS OF ARABIC

based on

Das Sabaq of Mawlana Abd al-Salam Kidwai Nadvi

Revised & Edited by Aamir Bashir

Copyright Dr al-Sadah Publications 2011 First Online Edition Dec 2011

Second Online Edition Jul 2012

ilmresources.wordpress.com

General and unrestricted permission is granted for the unaltered duplication, distribution, and transmission of this text.

In Plain English: Make as many copies as you want.

i

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Table of Contents i

List of Tables ii

Acknowledgments iii

Foreword v

LESSON 1 Subject and Predicate 1 LESSON 2 7 LESSON 3 Past Tense Verb 11 LESSON 4 Verb, Subject, Object 19 LESSON 5 Prepositions 25 LESSON 6 Pronouns 31 LESSON 7 Present and Future Tense Verb 39 LESSON 8 Adjective 49 LESSON 9 Imperative & Prohibitive 57 LESSON 10 Singular, Dual, Plural 67

ii

LIST OF TABLES

3.1 Past Tense Verb Forms in Active Voice ( ) 12 3.1a 13 3.2 Past Tense Verb Forms in Passive Voice ( ) 14 3.2a 15 5.1 Prepositions ( ) 25 6.1 Unattached ( ) Pronouns 31 6.2 Attached ( ) Pronouns 32 7.1 Verb Forms of ( ) in Active Voice ( ) 39 7.1a 40 7.2 Verb Forms of ( ) in Passive Voice ( ) 41 7.2a 42 9.1 Creating Second Person Imperative In Active Voice ( ) 58 9.2 Second Person Imperative in Active Voice ( ) 58 9.2a 59 9.3 Creating Second Person Prohibitive ( ) in Active Voice 60 9.4 Second Person Prohibitive ( ) in Active Voice 60 9.4a 61 10.1 Singular, Dual, and Plural 68

iii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I owe a debt of gratitude to many people who helped in making this project a

success. To begin with, I would like to thank Sr. A. Naviwala who, working on

behalf of Darul Uloom al-Madania, prepared the first draft, which I edited. I would

also like to thank Mawlana Ibrahim Memon for his valuable feedback. I am also

indebted to my First year students at Darul Uloom (20112012 academic year) who suggested important improvements and pointed out the many mistakes. My

prepatory year students at Darul Uloom (20112012), including Ahmad Hatim who proof-read the draft for the second edition, have also given me valuable

feedback. I have greatly benefitted from their questions, comments and suggestions.

May Allah reward them, and all others for their contributions and help.

v

FOREWORD

This is the second edition of the revised Ten Lessons of Arabic, which in turn was

based on the famous Urdu language primer of Arabic grammar Das Sabaq [Ten

Lessons] by Mawlana Abd al-Salam Kidwai Nadvi. Das Sabaq in Urdu has been a part of the Aalim course curriculum in Western madrasahs for a number of years. In 2011, I was commissioned by Darul Uloom al-Madania to edit a translation that

they had prepared by revising an existing translation of the text that was available

online. I completed the editing in a few months. During this process, I took liberty

with the translation to make the content more accessible and beneficial to the

student. The edited version was then used as a textbook for Darul Ulooms eAlim program. At that time, I received a number of suggestions from eAlim instructors

and students regarding improvement of the text.

Later, I got the chance to teach the first four chapters myself during Ramadan

2011 to a sincere student. At that time, I realized the many flaws that had

remained, especially in the first four chapters. I revised these chapters thoroughly to

make them more student friendly. Later still, I got the chance to go over the whole

text during the first term of 20112012 academic year, while teaching it to first year students at Darul Uloom. During this time, a number of issues came up and I made

the changes accordingly. The first online edition was released at that time.

Later, during the last two terms of 20112012 academic year, I got the chance to teach it again; this time, to the prepatory year students at Darul Uloom. More

issues came up and I fixed them. Now, at the end of this academic year (20112012), I have gone through the whole text again and revised it throughly. I have

added more explanation and tables in many chapters. I have also revised the word

lists and exercises, and reduced the overall number of vocabulary words. While

teaching, I had felt that memorizing too many new words was taking the students attention away from the real thing, viz. grammar rules and construction of the

language. In many cases, plurals of words are given, but they are merely for

reference. Students should not be required to memorize these. The vocabulary lists

still appear quite formidable. However, this is because of the many repeated words.

If they were to be taken out, the overall count will be much less.

This text has been revised multiple times. In the process, it has changed

considerably and those looking for an exact translation of Das Sabaq will be

disappointed. However, I believe it is now much more beneficial. I have tried my

vi

best, with help from many of my students, to remove all of the errors in it.

Nevertheless, as is the case with all human endeavors, there are bound to be some

mistakes in it, and definitely, room for improvement. I hope that the readers,

students and teachers, will apprise me of any such issues. Your feedback

(suggestions, constructive criticism, etc.) is valuable to me. You can contact me at

the email address given at the end.

This is a beginner-level text but notwithstanding its ease, it should be studied

with a teacher. It is also expected that the student will be studying other Arabic

books along with it as well. I would recommend Fundamentals of Classical Arabic

vol. 1 (by Dr. Husain Abdul Sattar) and Durus al-Lughah al-Arabiyyah vol. 1 (by Dr. V. Abdur Rahim). I got the chance to teach both during this academic year.

They are both excellent books. There is some overlap between them and Ten

Lessons. However, this should not be seen as redundancy, but as re-inforcement. Of

the three, Fundamentals is for Sarf, Ten Lessons and Durus al-Lughah are for general

Arabic. The last one is probably the best in terms of its gradual and progressive

introduction to Arabic language concepts. However, the former two provide concise

information for Sarf and Nahw, which is spread out in Durus al-Lughah. I

recommend that Ten lessons and Durus al-Lughah be started at the beginning of the

semester, while Fundamentals be started in the second half.

Since this is a beginner-level text; therefore, Arabic words have not been

transliterated exactly, keeping in mind that most people at this stage will not be

comfortable with Arabic transliteration schemes. Rather, their approximate

equivalents have been used that are easier to read for the untrained. Nevertheless,

non-English words have been italicized.

As for duals and plurals of Arabic words, the original Arabic duals and plurals

have not been used; rather, their plurals have been created the English way by adding an s to the singular. Thus, two dammahs is used instead of dammahtain. The word still remains italicized to reflect its non-English origin.

The following abbreviations appear in the text:

S = Singular D = Dual P = Plural

M = Masculine F = Feminine

Many times, these have been used in combination. Thus, we also have the

following abbreviations:

(S/M) = Singular masculine which means one male (D/M) = Dual masculine which means two males (P/M) = Plural masculine which means multiple males (S/F) = Singular feminine which means one female (D/F) = Dual feminine which means two females (P/F) = Plural feminine which means multiple females

vii

I hope and pray that this revised edition will be of benefit to the students. I

also pray that Allah Most High accepts this humble effort from all those who have

contributed to it in any way, and gives us the power to continue with more. I also

request the readers and all those who benefit from it in any way to remember us all

in their prayers.

And He alone gives success.

Aamir Bashir Buffalo, NY 91th Shaban, 1433 (1th July, 2012) Email: [email protected]

1

LESSON 1

Subject and Predicate

Consider the following sentences: Mahmood is knowledgeable, Haamid is pious, Khalid is a conqueror. These sentences and other sentences of the same pattern are called mubtada ( ) and khabar ( ). The subject of the sentence is called mubtada and it comes at the beginning of the sentence. The predicate of the

sentence is called khabar and it is the second part of the sentence. For example, in Mahmood is knowledgeable, Mahmood is the subject and the information about him being knowledgeable is the predicate. Therefore, Mahmood is mubtada and knowledgeableis khabar.

To translate a sentence of this type into Arabic, follow these steps:

1. Take out the is. 2. Translate the words into Arabic.

3. Give two dammahs ( ) to both words in the sentence.

Examples:

1. Mahmood is knowledgeable.

2. Haamid is pious.

3. Khalid is a conqueror.

4. Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace) is a messenger.

5. Naasir is a friend.

In the above examples, the mubtada is a definite noun.1 However, if it is a

common noun, an alif-laam will be added to the beginning of the word. For

example, if the first sentence was the man is knowledgeable, it would be translated as .

It is important to note here that whenever alif-laam comes before a word, the

tanween becomes a single fathah ( ), kasrah ( ) or dammah ( ) as the case

1 In Arabic, a definite noun is called marifah ( ) and a common noun is called nakirah ( ).

Lesson 1

2

may be, eg. becomes . Alif-laam is mainly used in place of the definite article the. It gives distinction to a word. For example, a man is any man and the man is a specific man. Sometimes alif-laam is used for the meaning of a whole category/class. For example, means mankind and means all praise.

If the mubtada is feminine, then the khabar will also have to be feminine. To

change a word to its feminine form, add the round taa () to the end of the word. For example, the man is pious is written as . Now if you want to say the woman is pious, you will say . Similarly, the girl is knowledgeable will be written as . Word List

English Arabic

Singular Plural

father mother

son boy

daughter, girl paternal uncle paternal aunt

maternal uncle maternal aunt

brother sister

grandfather grandmother

grandson granddaughter

man woman

3

English Arabic

Singular Plural

male child, infant, toddler female male child, infant, toddler

strong weak

ice, snow cold water sweet small

fat pious

worshipper intelligent, smart

hard-working beautiful

thankful, grateful truthful

Lord prophet, messenger

messenger path

straight Muslim

man, mankind slave

leader, commander

Lesson 1

4

English Arabic

Singular Plural

brave generous

the hour; day of resurrection coming (F) respectful

and merciful

going (M) knowledgeable; scholar

Exercise 1: Translate into Arabic.

1. Haamid is a father.

2. Mahmood is a son.

3. Khalid is an uncle (paternal).

4. Zayd is an uncle (maternal).

5. Bakr is a brother.

6. Saeed is a grandfather. 7. Hameed is a grandson.

8. The man is strong.

9. The child (M) is weak.

10. The ice is cold.

11. The water is sweet.

12. The son is small.

13. Hamzah is fat.

14. The brother is pious.


1. The woman is strong.

2. The mother is beautiful.

3. The daughter is a worshipper.

4. The aunt (maternal) is intelligent.

5. The aunt (paternal) is hard-working.

6. The sister is beautiful.

7. The grandmother is thankful.

5

8. Aishah is intelligent. 9. Fatimah is small.

10. Maimoonah is a grand daughter.

11. The aunt (paternal) is pious.

12. The girl is fat.

13. The grandmother is pious.

14. The aunt (maternal) is a worshipper.

Exercise 3: Translate into English.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.

7

LESSON 2

Consider the following sentences: slave of Allah, messenger of Allah, door of the house, the Messengers order, Mahmoods pen, Khalids book, Hameeds house. These phrases and those with a similar pattern are called mudaaf ( ) and mudaaf ilayhi ( ). One thing (mudaaf) is attributed to the other (mudaaf ilayhi). Many times, the relationship is that of the possessed to its

possessor. The possessed is called mudaaf and the possessor is called mudaaf ilayhi.

For example, in the phrase Mahmoods pen, the pen is owned by Mahmood. Therefore, pen is mudaaf and Mahmood is mudaaf ilayhi.

To translate a sentence of this type into Arabic, follow these steps:

1. Take out of or the apostrophe and the s, which show possession. 2. If you have taken out the apostrophe and the s, reverse the sequence. Write

the second word first and the first word second. If you took out of, then there is no need to reverse the sequence.

3. Replace the English words with their Arabic equivalents.

4. Give the mudaaf a single dammah and the mudaaf ilayhi two kasrahs.

For example, to translate the phrase Mahmoods pen to Arabic, first take out the apostrophe and s. It becomes Mahmood pen. Then, change the order of the words to pen Mahmood. Next, replace the words with their Arabic equivalents. You get . Now, give the mudaaf a single dammah and the mudaaf ilayhi two kasrahs. You get . Following the same method, Khalids book becomes . For a sentence with of, such as ring of gold, first remove the of. It becomes ring gold. Now, replace the words with their Arabic equivalents. You get

. Now, give the mudaaf a single dammah and the mudaaf ilayhi two kasrahs. You get . The rules concerning alif-laam have been mentioned in the first lesson. Those

rules will apply here also. Thus, if there is an alif-laam at the beginning of the

mudaaf ilayhi, the two kasrahs will become one kasrah. will become . It should be noted here that the mudaaf never accepts alif-laam or tanween. For instance, in the above example, will not accept alif-laam or tanween.

Lesson 2

8

Word List

English Arabic

Singular Plural

wall home, house

door window

room

roof ceiling

bed pen heat sun day

judgment; religion to establish, establishing

ritual prayer (salah) to give, giving

poor due (zakah) city, town

country; city, town city, town

people light lamp

darkness

9

English Arabic

Singular Plural

night finger, toe foot; leg tall, long

leader, governor short

expensive high

winter summer spring

autumn, fall new old

book note-book

jouney, travel


1. Haamids son/son of Hameed 2. Khalids mother/mother of Khalid 3. Fatimahs sister/sister of Fatimah 4. The houses wall/wall of the house 5. The rooms door/door of the room 6. The rooms window/window of the room 7. The houses roof/roof of the house 8. The rooms ceiling/ceiling of the room 9. Hameeds bed/bed of Hameed 10. The grandfathers pen/pen of the grandfather 11. The suns heat/heat of the sun

Lesson 2

10


1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

6. 7. 8. 9. 10.


1. Mahmoods pen is expensive. 2. The houses wall is long. 3. The houses roof is high. 4. Haamids son is tall. 5. Fatimahs sister is short. 6. Days of Summer are long.

7. Days of Winter are short.

8. Door of the house is high.

9. Ceiling of the room is expensive.


1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

11

LESSON 3

Past Tense Verb

In this lesson, we will look at the various forms a past tense verb takes in accordance

with the number and gender of the one(s) performing the action. To begin with, it

should be noted that means he (S/M) did, means they (D/M) did, means they (P/M) did, means she (S/F) did and so on. These verbs are in active voice ( ).

In Arabic, each verb form is called (seeghah). Looking at the table below, we can see that there are fourteen seeghahs in it. Each of these seeghahs has a name.

This name identifies, whether it is singular, dual or plural, whether it is masculine or

feminine, and whether it is first person, second person or third person. In Arabic,

the words for singular, dual and plural are , , and , respectively; first person is called , second person is called , and third person is called ; and masculine is called , and feminine is called . Thus, singular masculine of the third person will be called in Arabic. Dual masculine of the third person will be called , and plural masculine of the third person will be called , and so on.

In the case of the first person, because the gender is not identified, and there is

no separate seeghah for dual, therefore, the two seeghahs, singular first person and

plural first person will be called and , respectively.

Lesson 3

12

We are listing below the verb forms (also called conjugations) of the past tense

verb in active voice. These should be memorized with their meanings.

Table 3.1

Past Tense Verb Forms in Active Voice ( )

Person Gender Plurality English Arabic

Third

Person

( )

Masculine

( ) Singular He did.

Dual They did. Plural They did.

Feminine

( ) Singular She did.

Dual They did. Plural They did.

Second

Person

( )

Masculine

( ) Singular You did.

Dual You did. Plural You did.

Feminine

( ) Singular You did.

Dual You did. Plural You did.

First

Person

( )

Masculine/

Feminine Singular I did.

Masculine/

Feminine

Dual/

Plural We did.

13

Before we move on, it would be useful to see how Table 3.1 would be written in

Arabic. This is as follows:

Table 3.1a

Note: In the tables above, has been translated as he did and as she did. It should be kept in mind that these forms could also mean it (masculine) did and it (feminine) did, respectively. The same is true of other forms. The masculine could be any masculine thing or person, and the feminine could be any

feminine thing or person.

Lesson 3

14

Changing Active Voice to Passive Voice

Now, to change these verbs into passive voice, follow the following procedure. Put a

dammah on the first letter () of , and a kasrah on its second letter (). It will become . Its meaning will change to he (S/M) was done upon. This is passive voice ( ). Similarly, will become , will become , will become , and so on. We are listing below the verb forms (also called conjugations) of the past tense verb in passive voice. These should be memorized

with their meanings.

Table 3.2

Past Tense Verb Forms in Passive Voice ( )


Third

Person

( )

Masculine

( ) Singular He was done.

Dual They were done. Plural They were done.

Feminine

( ) Singular She was done.

Dual They were done. Plural They were done.

Second

Person

( )

Masculine

( ) Singular You were done.

Dual You were done. Plural You were done.

Feminine

( ) Singular You were done.

Dual You were done. Plural You were done.

First

Person

( )

Masculine/

Feminine Singular I was done.

Masculine/

Faminine

Dual/

Plural We were done.

15

Again, before we move on, it would be useful to see how Table 3.2 would be

written in Arabic.

Table 3.2a

Note: In these two tables, has been translated as he was done and as she was done. As mentioned above in the note after Tables 3.9 & 3.9a, these forms could also mean it (masculine) was done and it (feminine) was done, respectively. The same is true of other forms. The masculine could be any

masculine thing or person, and the feminine could be any feminine thing or person.

Lesson 3

16

Creating Conjugation Tables from Having memorized these two tables, the next stage is to identify the verb forms of

other verbs by comparing them to these tables. For this, we need to know that of any verb table is considered to be the basic verb form. Generally, it is composed of three letters. The first is called , the second is called , and the third is called . Now all that remains to be done is to identify which letter of the new verb matches which letter of the basic verb form of the tables given

above. Consider, the verb (he helped). Comparing this to of Table 3.1 or Table 3.1a, we can see that in this verb, is the , is the , and is the . Once, this is established, it is easy to compare any of its forms with the rest of table.

Below, we are providing a list of the basic forms ( ) of various verbs and their meanings. Their remaining forms can be created from them.

Word List For Verbs

English Arabic

he wrote he read

he found he cooked

he cut he filled

he sought, he demanded he asked he made he took he ate

he ran, he fled he went

he opened

17

English Arabic

he hit he entered

he put (something) he helped

he joined, he arrived he returned

he slaughtered he oppressed

he imprisoned, he detained


1. I wrote.

2. They (P/F) read.

3. You (S/M) found.

4. You (P/F) cooked.

5. They (P/F) cut.

6. We filled.

7. You (P/M) demanded.

8. They (D/M) asked.

9. They (D/F) made.

10. You (S/F) took.


1. It (S/M) was eaten.

2. They (P/M) were cut.

3. They (P/F) were made.

4. They (P/F) ran.

5. You (S/M) went.

6. You (P/M) were found.

7. It (S/F) was opened.

8. He was hit.

9. They (P/F) entered.

10. It (S/F) was placed.

3 nosseL

81

.hahgees eht yfitnedi dna hsilgnE otni etalsnarT :2 esicrexE

.1 .2 .3 .4 .5 .6 .7 .8

.9 .01 .11 .21 .31 .41 .51 .61

.hahgees eht yfitnedi dna hsilgnE otni etalsnarT :3 esicrexE

.1 .2 .3 .4 .5 .6

.7 .8 .9 .01 .11 .21

19

LESSON 4

Verb, Subject, Object

In Arabic, the word sequence in a verbal sentence is as follows: verb ( ), then subject ( ), and finally the object ( ).

(verb) = the action being done. (subject) = the person doing the action. (object) = the person or the thing to whom or to which the action is being done.

Rule: The gets a dammah (or two dammahs as the case may be), and the gets a fathah (or two fathahs).

Examples:

1. Haamid helped Mahmood. In this sentence, the is helped, Haamid is the and Mahmood is the . When translating this sentence into Arabic, the Arabic word for helped ( ) will come first followed by the faail, Hamid ( ) with two dammahs, and then the mafool, Mahmood ( ) with two fathahs. The final sentence will be .

2. A servant ( ) opened ( ) a door ( ). The same order used for the last example ( first, second and last) will apply here. Remember, the will get two dammahs and the will get two fathahs. The full sentence will be .

Notes: If there is an alif-laam on any word, the tanween (double harakah) at the end will change to a single harakah (the two fathahs will change to a single

fathah, the two kasrahs will change to a single kasrah, and the two dammahs

will change to a single dammah). Thus, the servant opened the door will be written as . Here, the alif-laam caused the double harakah to be dropped, and only a single harakah remained.

Lesson 4

20

Mudaaf and mudaaf ilayhi can combine to form a or a . For example:

Mahmoods servant opened the door.

The servant opened the door of the house.

Mahmoods servant opened the door of the house.

In this case, it is important to remember that the mudaaf does not accept an

alif-laam or a tanween. However, the mudaaf ilayhi can accept both.

Moreover, the effect of being a or will show on the mudaaf alone and not the mudaaf ilayhi.

Word List for Verbs

English Arabic

he read he stopped (someone)

he wrote he defeated he cooked

he ate he hit; he beat he worshipped

he broke (something physical) he tore

he helped he cheated, he deceived

he profited he heard

he made (someone into someone

or something into something)

21

English Arabic

he understood he remembered

he looked (at/towards) he broke (something non-

physical) he gave an example

he separated he created, he made; he originated

he was ungrateful; disbelieved he killed

he sat (down) he imposed; he made something

obligatory

Word List for Nouns & Particles

English Arabic

Singular Plural

book letter army girl

meat uncle (paternal)

bread rice dog

(drinking) glass garment, dress; cloth

friend

Lesson 4

22

English Arabic

Singular Plural

mother messenger; prophet

religion sky

building; roof land, earth

bed; spread; mattress Satan, the Devil

not trade ear

heart transgressor

oath; pledge; promise Muslim speech man

example blessing

sea chicken, hen

servant door

Exercise 1: Translate into Arabic

1. Hameed read a book.

2. Naseer stopped Mahmood.

3. Khalid wrote a letter.

23

4. Tariq defeated the army.

5. The girl cooked the meat.

6. The uncle (maternal) ate the bread.

7. I ate the rice.

8. I hit the dog.

9. You (P/M) worshipped Allah.

10. You (S/F) tore the cloth.

11. Hameeds friend helped Khalids grandson (sons son). 12. The girls mother broke the glass.

Exercise 2: Translate into English and identify the , , and , where applicable.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.

25

LESSON 5

Prepositions

The following particles are used as prepositions in Arabic. They occur quite

frequently.

Table 5.1

Prepositions ( ) in; regarding

with; at from; than to; up to on; upon for; belongs to as, like up to, until

about; from; regarding by (for oath)

The words that come after these prepositions end with a kasrah on the final letter.

Below, we give examples of each of these.

= Zayd is in the house. = I wrote with the pen.

= from the house to the mosque = Zayd sat on the chair.

= The car belongs to Zayd. = Ahmad is like a lion.

= I slept until the morning. = She asked about the book. = By Allah!

Besides the ten prepositions listed above, there are seven other prepositions that

occur less frequently. Since they do occur; therefore, it is appropriate to mention

them as well. They are as follows:

1. : by (for oath). This is specific with Allah, the Exalted. Example: By Allah!

Lesson 5

26

2 & 3. : since. These are used to define a time period. Example: I have not gone to the school since Friday.

4. : many a, so many. The noun used after is always singular. Example: I helped so many men.

5. : besides, except. Example: I taught the children except Zayd.

6. : besides, except. Example: I stopped the men except Amr. 7. : besides, except. Example: The people came except

Khalid.

Word List for Verbs

English Arabic

he went he killed he cut

he milked he wrote

he ate he asked he made

he looked (at) he opened

he sat he read

it (M) fell it (M) was prescribed (upon)

he broke

27

Word List for Nouns

English Arabic

Singular Plural

village city lion

sword cloth; clothes

scissors cow milk

large bowl card

pencil biscuit butter cream teacher student lesson

night-time sleep; sleeping

day-time buffalo

white; whiter gold silver stone moon

Lesson 5

28

English Arabic

Singular Plural

star lock key

garden grass praise

right guidance people

clouds (collective noun) something which is under

control

between; among, amidst sky

land, earth Friday

Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday Jew; Jewish Christian

part, portion good deed

world hereafter

29

English Arabic

Singular Plural

fly food

ritual prayer (salah) door room

bed today

tomorrow yesterday


1. Zayd went from the village to the city.

2. Mahmood killed the lion with the sword.

3. I cut the cloth with the scissors.

4. She milked the cows milk in the bowl. 5. You (S/M) put the shirt and the pants (one pair) in the box.

6. You (P/M) wrote on the cards with pencils.

7. They (P/F) ate biscuits with butter and cream.

8. By Allah (oath).

9. The teacher asked the students about the lesson.

10. Allah made the night-time for sleeping and the day-time for working.

11. Buffalos milk is whiter than cows milk. 12. Gold and silver are like stones to Zahid.

13. I looked towards the moon and the stars.

14. They (P/M) opened the lock with the key.

15. We went to the garden and we sat on the grass.

Exercise 2: Translate into English

1. 2. 3.

5 nosseL

03

.4 .5 .6 .7 .8 .9

31

LESSON 6

Pronouns

A pronoun is called in Arabic. Its plural is . There are a number of different types of pronouns in Arabic. We are listing below those pronouns that are

unattached ( ). These dameers are not joined to any word but appear as separate words. They can appear as mubtada. These should be memorized.

Table 6.1

Unattached ( ) Pronouns

Person Gender Plurality Pronouns

English Arabic

Third

Person

( )

Masculine

( ) Singular he

Dual they Plural they

Feminine

( ) Singular she

Dual they Plural they

Second

Person

( )

Masculine

( ) Singular you

Dual you Plural you

Feminine

( ) Singular you

Dual you Plural you

First

Person

( )

Masculine/

Feminine Singular I

Masculine/

Feminine

Dual/

Plural we

Lesson 6

32

Below, we list the attached ( ) dameers. They are also called possessive ( ) and objective ( ) dameers. By possessive, we mean those pronouns, which indicate possession ( ); and by objective we mean those pronouns, which refer to the object ( ).

Table 6.2

Attached ( ) Pronouns

Person Gender Plurality Pronouns

English Arabic

Third

Person

( )

Masculine

( ) Singular his, him

Dual their, them Plural their, them

Feminine

( ) Singular hers, her

Dual their, them Plural their, them

Second

Person

( )

Masculine

( ) Singular your, you

Dual your, you Plural your, you

Feminine

( ) Singular your, you

Dual your, you Plural your, you

First

Person

( )

Masculine/

Feminine Singular my, me

Masculine/

Feminine

Dual/

Plural ours, us

33

Examples of Usage of Unattached Dameers

He is Zayd. I am a student.

You are hardworking.

Examples of Usage of Attached Dameers

These pronouns can come after nouns, verbs and particles as shown in the examples

below.

1. After a noun, showing attribution/possession ( ): his (S/M) pen your (S/M) book my book her (S/F) book.

2. After a verb, indicating the object ( ): I helped him

I commanded you you (S/M) helped me.

3. After a particle:

in it for him

from you (S/M) to/towards us

indeed you (P/M) on him.

Word List for Verbs

English Arabic

he rode he broke

he fell he stopped (someone)

Lesson 6

34


English Arabic

he raised (someone or something) he played he looked

he worshipped he remembered

he ate he provided livelihood/sustenance

he sealed, he put a seal he cheated, he deceived he left; he abandoned

he snatched he created

he presented he took

he did (good deeds); he acted

(righteously)

English Arabic

Singular Plural

father mother tongue head nose hand tooth chest

35

English Arabic

Singular Plural

handkerchief car

bicycle shoe foot ball

mango apple

garden melon, watermelon

cucumber field; arable land

heart hearing; also used for ears

eyesight; glance; also used for

eyes

veil, covering themselves darkness lightning

Lord fuel

people stone

husband; wife; spouse clean, pure (F)

angel

Lesson 6

36


1. My father

2. His mother

3. Her tongue

4. Your (S/M) head

5. Your (S/F) nose

6. My hand

7. Their (P/F) teeth

8. His chest

9. Our handkerchief

10. I rode in your (S/M) car.

11. She broke my bike.

12. The shoe fell off your (S/M) foot.

13. I stopped them (P/F).

14. They (P/M) raised me.

15. You (P/M) played with the ball.

16. They (D/M) looked at me.

17. You (D/F) worshipped Him.

18. My mother remembered me yesterday.

19. You (S/M) ate a mango and an apple in your garden and you ate a watermelon

and a cucumber in your field.

English Arabic

Singular Plural

covenant above

Mount Sinai color

bright yellow whoever

then; so; therefore;

sometimes, it is not translated compensation, reward

with

73

hsilgnE otni etalsnarT :2 esicrexE

.1 .2 .3 .4 .5 .6 .7 .8 .9 .01 .11 .21 .31

39

LESSON 7

Present and Future Tense Verb

We have already discussed the past tense verb and pronouns. In this lesson, we will

discuss which is equivalent to present and future tense. (past tense) and (present/future tense), as well as (pronouns) are the foundations of the Arabic language. These should be memorized properly. This will make all

future lessons much easier. We are listing below the conjugations (verb forms) of

(present and future tense verb) in active voice ( ).

Table 7.1

Verb Forms of ( ) in Active Voice ( )


Third

Person

( )

Masculine

( )

Singular He/It is doing or

will do Dual

They are doing or

will do Plural

They are doing or

will do

Feminine

( )

Singular She/It is doing or

will do Dual

They are doing or

will do

Plural They are doing or

will do

Second

Person

( ) Masculine

( )

Singular You are doing or

will do Dual

You are doing or

will do

Plural You are doing or

will do

Lesson 7

40

Table 7.1 Continued



Table 7.1a

Second

Person

( ) Feminine

( )

Singular You are doing or

will do

Dual You are doing or

will do

Plural You are doing or

will do

First

Person

( )

Masculine/

Feminine Singular

I am doing or will

do

Masculine/

Feminine

Dual/

Plural

We are doing or

will do

41

Creating Passive Voice In lesson 3, we discussed the method of converting (past tense active voice) to (past tense passive voice). Now, we discuss the method of converting from active to passive voice. , which means he does or will do, is in active voice ( ). To convert this to , we give the first letter a dammah and the third letter a fathah. becomes , becomes , becomes , becomes , and so on.

Table 7.2

Verb Forms of ( ) in Passive Voice ( ) Person Gender Plurality English Arabic

Third

Person

Masculine

Singular He/It is being done

or will be done Dual

They are being done

or will be done

Plural They are being done

or will be done

Feminine

Singular She/It is being done


They are being done

or will be done

Plural They are being done

or will be done

Second

Person

Masculine

Singular You are being done


You are being done

or will be done

Plural You are being done

or will be done

Feminine

Singular You are being done

or will be done

Dual You are being done

or will be done

Plural You are being done

or will be done

7 nosseL

24

deunitnoc 2.7 elbaT

tsriF

nosreP

/enilucsaM

eninimeF ralugniS

ro enod gnieb ma I

enod eb lliw

/enilucsaM

eninimeF

/lauD

larulP

enod gnieb era eW

enod eb lliw ro

ni nettirw eb dluow 2.7 elbaT woh ees ot lufesu eb dluow ti ,no evom ew erofeB

:swollof sa si sihT .cibarA

a2.7 elbaT

43

Note: When a passive verb is used, the (subject) is not mentioned. Rather, the (object) takes the place of the (subject) and is called (subject of

the passive verb) or (substitute subject). Since it takes the place of the , it also gets a dammah.

Examples:

: The boy was hit. The woman was stopped.

: The door will be opened. The wall will be broken.

Note: In the tables above, the first letter of each seeghah of , both and , is called (plural: ). As can be seen in the table, these

are , , , and .

Relationship between the Seeghahs of and Before we move on, it will be useful to keep in mind that the ayn kalimah of the

of a and can vary in a number of different ways. It can have a fathah, kasrah or dammah in and/or . It is beyond the scope of this book to discuss all of these combinations. However, at this stage, it is,

nevertheless, important to take note of the harakah on the ayn kalimah of any given and its corresponding .

Word List for Verbs

English

(for past tense)

Arabic

he went

he wandered about he made (someone into someone or

something into something) he came to know

Lesson 7

44

English

(for past tense)

Arabic

he worshipped

he realized; he became aware he heard he played he wore

he became sad, he grieved he slaughtered

he drank he read

he cooked he made (something) he stopped (someone)

he opened he washed he laughed

he was angry (with someone) he broke (something non-physical);

he nullified he commanded, he ordered

he concealed he wrote he cut

he helped he deceived, he cheated

he colored, he dyed he raised he sent

45

English

(for past tense)

Arabic

he ate

he remembered; he mentioned


English Arabic

Singular Plural

food newspaper

potato tea

spoon lock key

washerman cloth; clothes pond, pool

laughter friend house

prayer leader; leader people what?; do?; will?; etc.

(depending on the context)

sinfulness disbelief, infidelity

today tommorrow

Lesson 7

46

English Arabic

Singular Plural

day after tomorrow a year ago

day before yesterday letter

paternal uncle fear

promise; pledge that, which

piety, righteousness that; to

cow speech rope

remembrance prophet

fruit library

magazine article; essay


1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

47


1. They (P/M) came to know.

2. You (P/F) are reading.

3. She is cooking.

4. He is grieving.

5. They (P/F) are cooking.

6. I am making food.

7. We will drink.

8. You (S/F) will go.

9. You (S/M) will stop.

10. They (D/M) will go.


1. I will read your (S/M) newspaper.

2. They (P/F) will cook a potato for you (P/M).

3. You (P/M) are drinking tea with a spoon.

4. Your (P/M) uncle (paternal) will open the lock with his key.

5. The washerman is washing the clothes in the pond.

6. Haamid is laughing in his house.

7. I am hearing his laughter in my house.

8. Khalids friend will go to your (S/M) house. 9. We will make you (S/M) a leader for the people.

10. Are you (P/F) stopping them (P/M) from sinfulness and disbelief?

11. Today I read your (S/F) letter.

12. Tomorrow I will go to her uncles (paternal) house. 13. Are you (S/F) angry with him?


1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Lesson 7

48


1. Is being read (S/M, third person)

2. Is being written (S/M, third person)

3. Will be broken (S/M, third person)

4. Will be cut (S/M, third person)

5. She is being helped.

6. You are being stopped (S/M)

7. I am being stopped.

8. We are being helped.

9. You (S/F) will be stopped.

10. You (S/M) are being cheated.


1. The rope is being cut.

2. The cloth will be dyed.

3. Remembrance of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) is being

raised.

4. The prophets are being sent.

5. Fruits are being eaten.

6. Allah is being remembered.

7. Tomorrow, the newspaper will be read in the library.

8. An article will be written for your (S/F) magazine the day after tomorrow.

9. The promise was broken a year ago.

49

LESSON 8

Adjective

Consider the following phrases: truthful Muslim, pious man, large mosque, small book, trustworthy servant. These phrases and other phrases of similar pattern are called (adjective) and (the described). In the phrase small book, small describes the book. Thus, small is (adjective), and book is (the described).

To convert such a phrase into Arabic, follow the following steps:

1. Translate the individual words into Arabic.

2. Reverse the order of the words so that the first word comes second and the

second word comes first.

3. Give both words one or two dammah(s) (depending on the situation).

Example: We want to convert the phrase, truthful Muslim into Arabic. First, we translate the individual words into Arabic. We get . Next, we reverse the order to get . Then, we give two dammahs to both the words. We get . Similarly, if we want to convert pious man into Arabic, we will first translate the individual words into Arabic . Next, we will reverse the order of the words . Lastly, we will give two dammahs to both words .

States of Nouns:

Before we move on, it will be useful to keep in mind that each noun is always in a

certain state. There are three states in total for nouns. These are as follows:

1. : This is the state when a noun has one or two dammahs at the end. Such a noun is called . For example, or . 2. : This is the state when a noun has one or two fathahs at the end. Such a noun is called . For example, or . 3. : This is the state when a noun has one or two kasrahs at the end. Such a noun is called . For example, or .

Lesson 8

50

Note: There is another state which is specific to verbs. This is . This is the condition in which a appears at the end of a word or its substitute ( in the case of ) is dropped from the end. Such a word is said to be . For example, (he did not hit). Additional Rules for and :

1. Both the and the have to be in the same state, i.e., if one is , then the other should also be . Similarly, if one is , the other should also be . For example, consider . Since has two dammahs at the end, it is ; therefore, will also be given two dammahs to make it . Similarly, if for some reason was , would also have to be . The phrase would then have been such as in (I helped a pious man). If had been , would also have been . The phrase would then have been such as in (I went to a pious man).

2. Both the and the should either be marifah or nakirah. Thus, if the has an alif-laam, the should also have an alif-laam. For example, if were to be changed to , would also change to

. 3. The gender of the and the should be the same. Thus, if the

is feminine, the should also be feminine. To change a word to its feminine form, just add a round taa () at the end of the word. For example, a pious teacher (F) will be and the pious teacher (F) will be .

4. If the is a proper noun, it will not accept alif-laam. For non-proper nouns alif-laam is used to change nakirah into marifah. However, all proper nouns are considered marifah by default even without an alif-laam. Since, the is a proper noun; therefore, the will require an alif-laam to make it marifah. For example, when converting the conqueror Khalid into Arabic, we will not add alif-laam to because it is already a

51

proper noun. However, we will add an alif-laam to the ( ) because it is not a proper noun. The sentence will be . The following examples illustrate this point: The king Mahmood will be . The commander Taariq will be . The poet Ghalib will be . These sentences can also be read (not written) as , ,

and .

Word List for Verbs

English Arabic

he drank he defeated he entered

he touched, he felt (by hand);

he examined he provided

he conquered he took

Word List for Nouns

English Arabic

Singular Plural

pious, righteous father son

most-forgiving Lord

big, large

Lesson 8

52

English Arabic

Singular Plural

door old mat

good; excellent article; essay

magazine street

small, little ship, boat

deep sea

great; powerful mountain

long train

train engine station

immoral person

man beautiful, handsome; good

fan sick, ill woman bitter

medicine king

53

English Arabic

Singular Plural

army capital city

today skillful; outstanding

barber store, shop

old man; scholar mischievous

boy ugly

near, close house doctor

medical prescription path

straight torment; punishment

painful mosquito livelihood

trial, tribulation night dark

example word tree

good; pleasant (F)

Lesson 8

54

English Arabic

Singular Plural

root firm, established

branch sky

commander, leader city

fort, fortress, castle hand; possession

conqueror Romans


1. Pious father

2. The son Saeed 3. Most-forgiving Lord

4. Big door

5. The old mat

6. Good article

7. Good magazine

8. Big street

9. Small boat

10. Deep sea

11. Great mountain

12. Long train

13. Big engine

14. Small station


1. I hit an immoral man.

2. You (P/M) took a beautiful fan.

3. The sick woman drank bitter medicine.

4. Brave Tariq defeated a big kings army and he entered his capital. 5. Today I will go to a skilled barbers shop.

55

6. This is a pious old man and that is a mischievous child.

7. This is a handsome man and that is an ugly boy.

8. You (S/M) went to a shop close to your house.

9. Doctor Mahmood examined a sick woman and wrote a good prescription for

her.


1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

57

LESSON 9

Imperative (Positive Command) &

Prohibitive (Negative Command)

The command is used to demand an action. That verb which contains a command to do something is called , for example, read! and write!; while that verb which contains a command to not do something is called , as in do not go and do not fear.

Creating for the Second Person of any verb is created from its respective . In this lesson, we will study

the method of making for the second person. This is as follows. 1. First, give a jazm to that seeghah of , whose you wish to create. This means that that seeghah which ends with a dammah, should have its dammah

replaced with a sukoon, while the noon should be dropped from that seeghah which

ends with a noon. The for is an exception to this.2 Also, in the case of , an alif should be added at the end, after dropping the noon. 2. Now, remove the , which in this case is . The seeghah should be unreadable.

3. Now, add a at the beginning and give it a kasrah.3 This process is illustrated in the following table.

2 In fact, this is one of those words whose ends do not accept any vowel change. Such words are called . 3 Hamzat al-wasl appears at the beginning of a word. It is not pronounced when there is a

word before the word with a hamzat al-wasl. Giving it a kasrah is the basic principle. There

is more detail to it, and is mentioned later in the lesson.

Lesson 9

58

Table 9.1

Creating Second Person Imperative In Active Voice ( ) [From Left To Right]

Original seeghahs of

Second Person

Give jazm

to the

seeghahs

Drop the harf

al-mudari Add a hamzat al-

wasl at the

beginning

Based upon the above procedure, we get the following seeghahs of second person

imperative in active voice. These must be memorized.

Table 9.2

Second Person Imperative In Active Voice ( )


Second

Person

( )

Masculine

( ) Singular (You) Do!

Dual (You) Do! Plural (You) Do!

Feminine

( ) Singular (You) Do!

Dual (You) Do! Plural (You) Do!

59



Table 9.2a

Examples:

1. From (you are opening/will open), we get (open!). 2. From (you are sitting/will sit), we get (sit!). 3. From (you are hearing/will hear), we get (hear!). 4. From (you are hitting/will hit), we get (hit!). 5. From (you are going/will go), we get (go!).

Creating for the Second Person Like , the of any verb is also created from its respective . In this lesson, we will study the method of making for the second person. It is partially similar to the method given above for , but there are also differences. The process is as follows.

1. Like in the case of , give a jazm to the . This means that that seeghah which ends with a dammah, should have its dammah replaced with a sukoon, while

the noon should be dropped from that seeghah which ends with a noon. As before,

the for will be an exception to this. Also, in the case of , an alif should be added at the end, after dropping the noon.

Lesson 9

60

2. Now, instead of removing the , just place a before it. This is a , and is called .

This process is illustrated in the following table.

Table 9.3 Creating Second Person Prohibitive In Active Voice ( )

[From Left To Right]

Original seeghahs of

Second Person Give jazm to the

seeghahs

Add a laa al-nahiyah at

the beginning

Based upon the above procedure, we get the following seeghahs of second person

prohibitive in active voice. These must be memorized.

Table 9.4

Second Person Prohibitive In Active Voice ( )


Second

Person

( )

Masculine

( ) Singular (You) Dont do!

Dual (You) Dont do! Plural (You) Dont do!

Feminine

( ) Singular (You) Dont do!

Dual (You) Dont do! Plural (You) Dont do!

61

Again, before we move on, it would be useful to see how Table 9.4 would be

written in Arabic. This is as follows:

Table 9.4a

Examples:

1. From (you are opening/will open), we get (do not open!). 2. From (you are sitting/will sit), we get (do not sit!). 3. From (you are hearing/will hear), we get (do not hear!). 4. From (you are hitting/will hit), we get (do not hit!). 5. From (you are going/will go), we get (do not go!).

The vowels (harakah) of and Many times we find to be on the pattern of as in . However, this is not always the case. Sometimes, it follows the pattern as in , and sometimes the pattern as in . The reason behind this difference is that the particular vowel

pattern of and is dependent on the () letter of the seeghah of . The () letter of this governs the in two ways,

and in one way. The one way where it governs both and is the harakah of the () letter

of and . Here, the harakah has to correspond exactly. Thus, when the () letter of has a fathah, or kasrah, or dammah, the () letter

Lesson 9

62

of and will have the same vowel. For example, in the () letter is () and has a fathah. Therefore, in its and forms, the () will also get a fathah. Its will be and its will be . In there is a kasrah under (); therefore, its and forms will be and respectively. In , there is a dammah on (); therefore, its and forms will be and respectively.

The other way in which () letter of governs is with respect to the hamzat al-wasl of . This hamzat al-wasl either gets a kasrah or a dammah. It cannot have a fathah. If the () letter of has a dammah, the hamzat al-wasl of will also have a dammah. For example, the of will be because () is the () letter of and it has a dammah. And if the () letter of has a fathah or a kasrah, then in both cases the hamzat al-wasl of will get a kasrah. For example, the of is , and the of is .

It should be noted that there is no hamzat al-wasl in . It is only dependent on the () letter of for the harakah on its own () letter.

Word List For Verbs

English

(for past tense)

Arabic

he went

he stopped (someone) he started he opened he searched

he heard he laughed

he did, he acted, he worked he came to know

he played he accepted

63

English

(for past tense)

Arabic

he cooked

he was cautious he went near, he came near

he became sad he mocked

he did he read

he entered he drank


English Arabic

Singular Plural

to market mosque

but, rather, however box for

yourself a lot

advice mother

with doll ball

speech

Lesson 9

64

English Arabic

Singular Plural

mirror comb meat snake

scorpion cat

upon, on path

straight good that

all, each thing

powerful intercession

village friend hotel milk door house

manager; editor newspaper


1. 2.

7. 8.

65

3. 4. 5. 6.

9. 10. 11. 12.


1. Dont go (P/M) to the market, but go to the mosque. 2. Open (S/M) the box.

3. Work (D/M) for yourselves.

4. Dont laugh (P/M) a lot. 5. Accept (P/F) the advice of your mothers.

6. Dont (P/M) play with the doll; play (P/M) with the ball. 7. Listen (S/M) to the speech of Allah.

8. Dont (S/F) play with the mirror and the comb; cook (S/F) the meat. 9. Be cautious (P/F) of the snake and the scorpion.

10. Dont (D/F) go near the ball; play (D/F) with this cat.


1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

67

LESSON 10

Singular, Dual, Plural

We have seen in the previous lessons that verb forms are sometimes single,

sometimes dual, and sometimes plural.4 Similarly, nouns can also be single, dual

and plural. For example, means one believer, means two believers, and means three or more believers. Below, we give the rules for duals and plurals

of nouns.

Dual: It is formed by placing at the end of a singular one of the following: An preceded by a fathah and followed by a with a kasrah i.e. []

for the state of . e.g. two men A preceded by a fathah and a with a kasrah i.e. [ ] for the states of

and . e.g. two men

Plural: It is formed by placing at the end of a singular one of the following:5 A preceded by a dammah and followed by a with a fathah i.e. [ ]

for the state of . e.g. Muslims A preceded by a kasrah and followed by a with a fathah i.e. [ ] for the states of and . e.g. Muslims

4 It should be remembered that when the verb forms are dual or plural, it is not the action that is dual

or plural. The action taking place is only one. It is only the doers of the action who are two or more. 5 There is more detail to it, which can be studied in more advanced books.

Lesson 10

68

For the ease of the students, a chart showing and its dual and plural forms in each of the different states is given below.

Table 10.1

Singular, Dual, and Plural

Singular ( ) Dual ( ) Plural ( ) In the state of

In the state of In the state of

Examples:

1. Two men went to the market.

2. The scholars gave a speech in the mosque.

3. Khalid helped two oppressed persons.

4. Naseer hit the oppressors.

5. I wrote with two pens.

6. A man from amongst the believers came.

Note: The of dual and plural is dropped when it appears at the end of mudaaf. For example,

1. (Zayds two pens) This was originally but the was dropped because it appeared at the end of mudaaf.

2. (a mans two horses) This was originally but the was dropped because it appeared at the end of mudaaf.

69

3. (Muslims of Egypt) This was originally but the was dropped because it appeared at the end of mudaaf.

4. (seekers of knowledge) This was originally but the was dropped because it appeared at the end of mudaaf.

Word List for Verbs

English

(for past tense)

Arabic

he ordered he wrote

he ate he cut he hit

he took he studied he cooked

he read he filled

he imprisoned he forgave

Word List for Nouns

English Arabic

Singular Plural

preacher book

believer bread

Lesson 10

70

English Arabic

Singular Plural

tree boy

umbrella year

worshipper a fish

notebook house

female servant, maid jar

uncle (maternal) thief

jail, prison guidance

pious, God-fearing successful; prosperous

corrupt we

peacemaker oppressor

punishment painful

disbeliever, infidel humiliating, disgraceful

with patient

all praise

71

English Arabic

Singular Plural

Lord world

blessing, grace (of Allah

Most High)

peace upon, on

master; chief messenger seal; ring prophet family

companion all


1. I ordered the preachers.

2. They (P/M) wrote a book for the believers.

3. They (P/F) ate the bread.

4. You (P/M) cut the tree.

5. She hit two boys and she took the umbrellas.

6. You (P/F) will study for two years.

7. You (S/F) will cook for the worshippers.

8. You (S/M) ate a fish, but I ate two fish.

9. She wrote two notebooks and you (P/M) read two books.

10. The houses maid cooked bread and she filled two jars. 11. Khalids uncle (maternal) imprisoned the thieves in the jail.


1. 2. 3. :

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.4 .5 .6 .7 .8 .9

ten lessons 2nd online ed1

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active voice

passive voice

foreword v lesson

past tense verb forms

future tense verb

lessons of arabic

person prohibitive

person imperative